New Microsoft Office For Mac Expected This Year

Microsoft hasn’t released a new version of Office for Mac since it pushed out Office for Mac 2011. That means OS X users are behind, in terms of support for new features and documents. That may change soon, however, as Microsoft recently hinted that it’s going to push out a brand new version of Office for Mac sometime this year. We don’t yet know the name, but it’s a safe bet Microsoft won’t call it Office 2013. Office 365 meanwhile, which is available for OS X users, is still basically just a subscription model to Office for Mac 2011.

The news came from Cebit, a trade show in Germany, where Microsoft’s Germany Business Group Lead Thorsten Hübschen dropped hints to Computerwoche. “Hübschen told Computerwoche that there are now development teams for each of the Office applications, which each produce versions of their product for different platforms,” the news outlet said. “In addition to [OS X], other possible targets for the future may include tablets running iOS and Android.”

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to MacWorld that it has a team working on a new version of Office for Mac, though she declined to confirm it will land this year. “The team is hard at work on the next version of Office for Mac,” the spokesperson said. “While I don’t have details to share on timing, when it’s available, Office 365 subscribers will automatically get the next Office for Mac at no additional cost.”

The news really isn’t a surprise, at least since it’s been a long time coming. Microsoft may provide more details during its BUILD conference early next month, if there’s any news to share.